Power grids prepare for lights out at 9pm
With qualifying tournaments stalled in most continents, world body pushes back women’s event
NEWDELHI: The Union ministry of power on Saturday clarified that PM Narendra Modi’s call for switching off lights on Sunday would not cause instability to the power grid amid concerns over a possible grid collapse.
“Some apprehensions have been expressed that this may cause instability in the grid and fluctuation in voltage which may harm electrical appliances. These apprehensions are misplaced. The Indian electricity grid is robust and stable and adequate arrangements and protocols are in place to handle the variation in demand,” the power ministry said in a statement.
KOLKATA: The women’s under-17 football World Cup, scheduled in five Indian cities from November 2-21, has been deferred as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, FIFA announced on Saturday. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the FIFA-Confederations Working Group through a conference call.
“New dates will be identified,” a FIFA statement said. The women’s under-20 World Cup in Panama and Costa Rica from August 10-30 has also been postponed. “We were looking forward to hosting the tournament in November this year, but…We don’t want to take any risk that is detrimental to our community before it is clear that there is no threat to people’s health due to this pandemic,” said the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) in a statement.
“The stadiums are ready but this (postponement) will lead to some cost overruns which we will have to discuss with FIFA,” said Kushal Das, the AIFF general secretary. Sports Authority of India had approved over ~14 crore on a plan to prepare the Indian team. It included exposure trips and a four-nation tournament India were due to host.
Clarity will be needed on the staff hired by the LOC. “Till the end of November they are on contract with the LOC anyway. Before that we will need to discuss the way forward,” said Das.
Sixteen teams will take part in the 32-match biennial competition of which this will be the seventh edition. Barring India, only Japan and North Korea had qualified before football was halted to prevent the spread of the virus.
The final rounds of Africa’s qualifiers were scheduled in May as was the UEFA women’s under-17 championship. The Oceania under-16 competition, postponed last year due to an outbreak of measles in the Pacific region, was due from April 6. The South American under-17 championship was supposed to start in Uruguay on April 15, and the Concacaf championship in Mexico from April 18-May 3.
Three teams each from Europe, South America, Concacaf, Africa and Asia and one from
Oceania will make the final 16.
The tournament is supposed to be held in Kolkata, Guwahati, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar. As per the fixtures released last February, Navi Mumbai will host the final and the third-place play-off in a double-header. The semi-finals have been allotted to Navi Mumbai and Bhubaneswar. Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar will host the quarter-finals.